


For Wayward soul bell tolls

by Crows_Cronicle



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Pre-Canon, The Great Fodlan Bakeoff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:42:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crows_Cronicle/pseuds/Crows_Cronicle
Summary: Patricia would do anything to get her daughter back.Even if it meant to be manipulated by a wolf in sheeps clothing.(Written for The Great Fódlan Bakeoff)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	For Wayward soul bell tolls

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the great Fódlan Bakeoff. The themes were Exploration, Secret, Ambition and Devotion (with bonus gossip). I tried to have all the themes in some form, although some are more...liberally interpeted than others.
> 
> Something worth keeping in mind is that this fic will contain a minor appereance from my 3h FC Phistomel. That being said, you don't need to read my main fic, Obsidian Eclipse, in order to understand his character in this fic as all that you need to know about him for it is told here.

Patricia von Arundel was a woman full of regrets and secrets. She had done many things in her past she didn't look fondly on in the present and had many secrets she wouldn't share even with those closest to her. Many of those secrets were things she had left in the past: Her name wasn't even her birth name, but rather an alias she took on after going to hiding from the Insurrection of the Seven. Patricia had left everything behind: her old name, her old self to the past. Who she was and what she had done was concern to only her and her alone 

Despite all the baggage these secrets gave her, Patricia was going to do one more thing that was going to be in her collection of secrest. A secret that she was hopefully not going to regret.

Patricia was going to participate in the murder of her husband, the king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus himself.

Lambert was a king beloved by most of the kingdom thanks to his idealistic nature and genuine desire to do good. However, a part of nobility were opposed to his reforming ideals. Were they necessary? Was he a bit too incompetent and wishy-washy to rule? And such, plans to kill the king were starting to brew under the surface of the Holy Kingdom. However, it wasn't just the nobles who were conspiring against the king: there was a far more sinister and seedy underbelly to the operation only select few were aware of. One consisting of ominous and enigmatic individuals, who seemed to have greater goals than just get rid of Lambert and replace him with a better king.

Long before she joined the conspiracies, Patricia had managed to make the king fall hopelessly in love with her. However, he also managed to make a bitterned woman like her fall in love with him as well. It was hard to explain but somehow, he had managed to get her off her feet.

During the course of Patricia's time in the kingdom, she slowly started to doubt her feelings . Perhaps Lambert wasn't as good person as she had thought? But there weren't any signs of him being a bad person either. He was always so caring, so charming, so loveable. Perhaps that is what nerved Patricia so much. After all, people rarely were altruistic and kind for genuine reasons. From Patricia's experience, there was always an ulterior motive.

But these thoughts were just Patricia's paranoia and fear of bad experiences repeating again, was it not? Lambert was a good king and a good person, was he not? Was he not?

It was then when Cornelia started making her advances and made Patricia doubt the king even more.

Cornelia was the resident court mage, admired by the royal court thanks to saving them during dire times. Cornelia's high and beloved status aside, something was off about her. Patricia couldn't exactly figure out what it was, but a sense of enigma was around the high mage. Despite that, Patricia couldn't oppose her. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was due to her knowing Cornelia before either of them had set their foot to the Kingdom. Or at the very least, that is what Cornelia claimed to her. And Patricia couldn't help but accept it as truth, as something about Cornelia felt so,so familiar. She just wasn't sure why.

"The king isn't who he says he is," Cornelia continually whispered to Patricia. "He is someone who hides his true colors under a nice facade. A vile monster who will destroy everything in his path."

These words fed ti Patricia's warped thoughts about Lambert. But she still wasn't sure about it. On one hand, yes. But at the same time, she still loved him. Lambert was so good, so kind, so idealistic person and king. There was no way he was a vile monster? Right? Right??. But what if Lambert was too good to be true? Was his kindness truly a farce, like Cornelia had said? Patricia didn't want to believe what the court mage had said. Lambert didn't show any cruelty or even harshness unless it was necessary. However, if there was something Patricia had learned during her miserable existence, it was that most people were vile creatures. Especially if they were rulers or other kind of authority.

Over time this inner turmoil became worse and worse. Who could she believe? What she saw of Lambert being a good person? Or what her thoughts and Cornelia constantly repeated? That Lambert was a monster in mans disguise. That he was just a bloodthirsty king with facade of a saint.. That he didn't care for Patricia. That he was 

It all reached a boiling point when Lambert returned from the war between Faerghus and the bordering Sreng. During this time, Cornelia had even persuaded Patricia more and more. 

"You don't know what he did there."

"How can you be sure he is telling you the truth?"

These words repeated in Patricia's head. Over and over again. They wormed into her head, nested in there and made themselves feel welcome home. They danced around and repeated themselves over and over again.

That made Patricia wonder one thing.

Why did she trust Cornelia of all people?

Perhaps it was due to the mages words being similar to her own thoughts. They reinforced the ideas she already had. It was easier to believe someone if they told you something you already believed in, after all

But that couldn't be it. If it was just Cornelia sharing,then There was something else too. As if she could understand her and know her pain stronger than anyone else could. Or as if she was someone familiar. Someone who had long since wormed her way into Patricia's heart, like a spider, patiently enhancing its prey and waiting it to come to devouring distance.

Then one day, when the two women were alone, that metaphorical strike of spider happened.

Cornelia's goals became at least somewhat more clear.

"Would you like to join in a cause to get rid of the king?" Cornelia asked.

Patricia couldn't believe her ears. Get rid of Lambert? Sure,by this point Patricia had lost most of the trust she once held . But to murder him. Wasn't that a bit too far? There were other ways to solve this than cold blooded murder.

"I…" Patricia hesitated. Upon hearing her hesitation, Cornelia went closer to her and whispered to her ear.

"I expected better from you than that," she whispered. "I thought we both had agreed how terrible he was and that he hurts both you and the kingdom."

Before Patricia could even answer, Cornelia went even closer to her, hold her hand tightly and whispered her once more.

"The king is the reason you are apart from your daughter, is he not?"

Hearing this, felt like time had stopped. Her daughter, who had been forcibly separated from her during the insurrection. 

But there was no way Lambert was responsible of the separation? He had nothing to do with the insurrection, had he not?

But….If Cornelia said so.

Then again, it had been years since it had happened, yet Patricia had only been able to be with her daughter for once.

Cornelia whispered one more time.

"If you join in killing the king, I will make sure you will see your daughter again." 

These words were the last push Patricia needed.

Patricia was going to do anything to see her daughter again. Even if it meant to kill a man she once had respected and had some semblances of feelings for.

Ever since that meeting she was part of the assassination plot. She encountered a number of the co-conspirators via them visiting secretly. Most of them were nobles who she had encountered once or twice before in her lifetime. There were some others as well: strange looking mages wearing bird shaped masks.

The way Patricia partook in the plans was mostly via Cornelia: the mage told her everything she needed to do. Patricia obeyed her, did everything she was asked to. No matter how difficult or horrendous the task was, she was willing to do it 

Whatever it took to see her daughter again.

Before too long, three years had passed since the fateful night.

Soon, the fateful day would come.

Soon, it all would be over.

Soon, Patricia would see her daughter again.

All she needed now, was to wait.

One night, looking outside, Patricia was to meet the Cornelia in the flower garden. The two women had promised to meet each other there during this midnight.

When Patricia went to the garden, she was in for a shock. Instead of Cornelia, she was met by a person she had never met before.

The person was an abnormally pale-skinned man somewhat shorter than her. He had shoulder length white hair that curved around edges. The man wore a short sleeved black jacket that floated into a coat, short black shorts and thick black boots. He had a strange white pendant, although it was hard to notice due to hiding under the thick red scarf.

The man's most noticeable qualities were his eyes. His pupils were slanted, like a wild cat or a venomous snake. His scaleras were completely blood red to the point it was hard to determine if he even had irises in the first place. The eyes were abnormal, inhuman and offsetting. Whatever the man was, he sure wasn't a human.

Yet something about him felt so familiar. Patricia couldn't just pinpoint out what.

"My, my, what do we have here?" the man said.His deep voice sounded playful, but had a sinister undertone beneath. "If it isn't the lovely consort queen herself?"

"Who are you?" Patricia asked, clutching her hands. The man gave her a hollow smirk.

"Oh,I forgot to introduce myself didn't I?" he tauntingly asked,curling his fingers. "How rude of me. Although to be fair, I assumed you were at the very least aware of me." The man snapped his fingers a couple of times.

"The name's Phistomel," the man introduced himself dramatically, hands posing with grandeur. "The bringer of TRUE salvation to Agarthans."

Patricia sighed of frustration. Whoever this man was, he was one whole of a showoff. That being said,something about him felt strangely familiar. Patricia wasn't just sure what it was.

"What do you want?"she asked. "Where's Cornelia?"

"Getting right down to business aren't we? I like you already," Phistomels hollow eyes glinted as he smirked. "Anyways the mage you refer to as Cornelia isn’t here like she promised,I’m afraid. Perhaps she doesn’t care about you like you think she does," Phistomel made a little bow.

How did he know??? And why did he dare to say Cornelia was just using her. She wasn't...was she? Was she? She couldn't, she couldn't. She had been for her all this time.

Then again, most of the time Cornelia had just played Patricia around as if she was a toy. So Phistomel could have been right.

  
"Do you know her?" Patricia demanded of the stranger. 

"You could say so" Phistomel answered nonchalantly. "I was an ally of hers long, long time ago But those days have long since passed." Phistomel let out a chuckle again. He frollicked around the garden, touching on the flowers. He took the flowers, ripping them away from their roots. He then tossed the remains away, casually. 

"People like her don’t care about your kind," Phistomel explained, as he collected and ripped more flowers. "They just see you as tools at best and beasts at worst. Do what they say, and they will ditch you once they got what they wanted. Refuse, and they will make your life a living nightmare. Or worse " His words were sharp and ominous.

Those words echoed in Patricia's mind. Her life had been a living nightmare the whole time. What did Phistomel even mean by that?

"So, let me ask you this," Phistomel dramatically asked, as he played with the flower. "Why is someone like you participating in the assassination of the king?”

Patricia’s entire body froze upon hearing these words.  _ How did this man know? _ Who even was he. She tried to look at him, to figure out if his intentions just on his expressions and body language.

She wasn’t able to figure out. He was an complete enigma to her, and that scared her.

"Uncertain now are we?" Phistomel commented. "Feeling regrets over your actions?"

"How did you..." She was only able to muster. "You don’t know me. And I don’t certainly know you!"

Phistomel walked closer towards Patricia, winking to her. He played with his hands, continuing to take flowers of the garden.

"Oh, I have sent someone to join on the conspiring of the king's assassination," Phistomel explained. "Thanks to them I was able to figure out you were not only conspiring to the death of the king but also that you were close with Cornelia. And that was wonderful news for me."

"Why?"

"Because you are the exact ally I have searched for!" Phistomel declared, throwing the last flower dramatically to the air. "Your inside knowledge of Cornelia would be useful to me."

"What are you after."

"Simple really," Phistomel shrugged, smiling. "Salvation to my kind. And in order to get that,I have to get rid of the false prophets dooming my kind to salvation."

"Oh my, getting rid of me?" A familiar sounding female voice asked. Patricia instantly recognized who it belonged to.

Cornelia.

The archmage were nearby.

"We meet again, Cornelia," Phistomel says dramatically. "Is that what you call yourself these days? You have changed names so many times I lost count."

"The same could be said about you, Phistomel", Cornelia responded slyly. "I still cannot believe you changed your name, even if has been ages since you did."

"It doesn't matter." Phistomel responded nonchalantly. "What matters now is the present."

"And by that you mean defeating me?" Cornelia asked.

"Indeed," Phistomel answered. "For centuries I have sworn my revenge on your foolish group. And I will have it...I will bring our kind to the real light, and take you down no matter the cost."

"I don't think it has to be that way," Cornelia smugly commented. "After all, you want to take  _ our leader _ down more than anyone else? Truth to be told, I wasn't really loyal to him either. So what do you say about a truce?"

"I do appreciate your offer,"Phistomel said. "But I'm afraid I have to refuse.After all, you could backstab me at any moment."

"You truly are as sharp minded as they come" Cornelia halfhandly complimented. "Your intelligence is certainly wonderful. Perhaps you will be the victor and true savior."

Patricia was just, standing there. What was going on? And who was "this man" Cornelia alluded to. She didn't know.

"Oh," Cornelia said playfully. "I almost forgot. You Were going to take my favorite plaything from me, were you not?"

_ Plaything _ . Patricia thought for herself. Was that what Cornelia saw her as? A toy, and nothing more

Perhaps Phistomel truly was right.

"If that is what you call her then yes," Phistomel nodded. "I'm going to take her away from you."

"I'm afraid I cannot let you to have her," Cornelia hissed. "I still need her for as long as I can."

"You…." Patricia muffeled. "You used me?"

"I wouldn't say I used you," Cornelia responded with no remorse. "Just pushed your buttons to right directions. Guided you where I wanted you to be."

Hearing.

She should never have listened to her.

But why didn't her inner voice warn of Cornelia.

"Too late for now," Cornelia's voice echoed whisperingly, despite her being a far distance from Patricia. "You made your choice, now live with it. After all, you did this for your daughter, did you not?"

"For your daughter I see?" Phistomel repeated the information. "Love is the greatest motivation of them all." He clutched his pendant, holding it tightly. 

"I guess thats all from me," Phistomel gleed. " _ Ciao~"  _ Upon saying that, he vanished to thin air, leaving the two women alone.

"That little traitor hasn't changed, has he not?" Cornelia said half out loud. "If anyone can topple over us,it's him. Anyways, let's get this finished.

Patricia nodded.

She would do anything to see her daughter again.

Even if it meant to be manipulated by a figurative snake 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was fun. I REALLY have wanted to write something relating to Patricia for some while now (just, am too fascinated of this cryptid of a woman and have a ton of headcanons) and this fic event was the perfect opportunity for it. Just, when I saw those prompts I KNEW this was the time to write my Patricia fic. In addition I threw my lovely bastard Phistomel to the mix because 1) I love him and 2) the prompt "ambition" kinda reminded me of him.
> 
> As for is this OE compliant? I would say yes although I dont think I can answer that quite yet. Both due to avoiding potential spoilers as well as to the fact that things can change


End file.
